Unsealed paperwork: Girlfriend talked of killing of man found in lake

Oct. 8, 2013

Written by

Annmarie Patrick

Daniel David Compton

Justin Dion Tuttle

Recently unsealed court documents say that 28-year-old Daniel James Martin was killed and weighted down in Table Rock Lake by his girlfriend and another man.

Annmarie Patrick, 19, and Justin Dion Tuttle, 29, remain in the Stone County Jail, each held on a $1 million bond.

They’ve been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

According to the documents, Tuttle, Patrick and Martin were seen in the same pickup truck — owned by Martin — on the afternoon of Sept. 26. Several witnesses reportedly saw Tuttle and Patrick in the truck later that afternoon but without Martin.

Three days later, Martin’s body was found face down in the water in a cove at the end of Jones Trading Post Road in Lampe.

Patrick, Martin’s girlfriend, was picked up by Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators.

According to the documents, Patrick said the trio drove to the lake where Tuttle turned to her and said “something” was about to happen and don’t “freak out,” according to the documents.

That’s when Martin was killed, Patrick told investigators, according to the documents.

The manner of death is not described in the documents, other than through the use of a deadly weapon.

Authorities described Tuttle as a “close acquaintance” of the victim.

Charged with a lesser charge in connection with the death is 41-year-old Daniel David Compton, who, according to the documents, drove Martin’s pickup truck into a large ravine in the area of Omaha, Ark.

Authorities believe the truck was ditched after Martin was killed and Compton was attempting to dispose of evidence in the case.

He has been charged with evidence tampering.

Until today, the probable cause documents were sealed after Stone County Prosecutor Matt Selby requested that the particulars of the case remain secret.

Selby had told the News-Leader he made the request because he believed that if the documents were made public, the ongoing investigation could be impeded.

Associate Circuit Judge Alan Blankenship had granted the request to seal the documents but noted the order was “unusual.”